Governments of India and the United Kingdom Join Forces With UN Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions Michael Bloomberg to Mobilize Private Capital in Support of India's Low-Carbon Transition
Originally posted on bloomberg.com.
NEW DELHI, India, September 2, 2021 /3BL Media/ - Following today’s India-UK 11th Economic and Financial Dialogue meeting (EFD), the Government of India and Her Majesty’s Government, and UN Special Envoy Michael R. Bloomberg announced a new partnership to support India’s ambitious plans to deliver inclusive, resilient, and sustainable infrastructure and services. The initiative – CFLI India – seeks to mobilize investment into India and begin a long-term effort with public, private, and multilateral initiatives to strengthen local enabling environments and facilitate private capital at scale.
CFLI India will be co-chaired by Shemara Wikramanayake, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Macquarie Group, and Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Group, and comprises major private sector Indian and multi-national corporates and financial institutions. The partnership will be supported by Her Majesty’s Government, Government of India, the City of London Corporation, the Global Infrastructure Facility, and Bloomberg LP.
“This partnership is a great example of how the public and private sectors can work together to speed the transition to clean energy and make possible the deep emissions cuts we need to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement and beyond. The Climate Finance Leadership Initiative is working to eliminate barriers to investment and create market conditions to drive more capital to green projects – and this collaboration between India and the UK, two of the world’s largest and most dynamic economies, can create a model for counties around the world to learn from.” – Michael R. Bloomberg, UN Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions, Chair, Climate Finance Leadership Initiative
This public-private sector partnership advances a key objective of COP26: mobilizing climate finance to support countries around the world to meet their enhanced Paris commitments. Trillions of dollars are needed, and private finance has a critical role to play in accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy.
India is taking bold steps to decarbonize its economy and has seen rapid growth in clean energy and other low carbon sectors in the last decade. Indian wind and solar capacities have quintupled to reach 76GW in 2020, making it a global success story for renewables deployment. Despite this success, BloombergNEF estimates deployment must accelerate and an additional $649 billion in financing may be needed across the power sector for India to reach its 450GW renewable energy target– a financing gap the private sector can help to fill. CFLI India presents a new approach to mobilizing climate finance at scale to deploy emerging clean technologies, develop sustainable and resilient infrastructure, and help achieve India’s renewable energy target.
Today’s announcement brings to life the key factors for creating enabling environments in emerging markets outlined in the CFLI’s latest report: Unlocking Private Climate Finance in Emerging Markets: Private Sector Considerations for Policymakers. CFLI India is the first in a series of country pilots stemming from the CFLI’s work, with the goal of replicating this model in other countries in the years ahead.
Since early 2019, the CFLI, under Michael Bloomberg’s leadership, has worked to identify barriers and solutions to mobilizing climate finance at scale, particularly in high-emitting countries, industries, and sectors. This includes an ambitious agenda for public and private-sector engagement to strengthen investment conditions for private finance. The group, responsible for $6.2 trillion in assets, has published thought leadership and research on this topic, as well as partnered with groups like the Association of European Development Finance Institutions (EDFI) to build project pipelines, manage risks, and broaden opportunities for private sector financing and investment in emerging and frontier markets.
“We welcome the partnership involving Governments of the UK and India, Climate Finance Leadership Initiative, Global Infrastructure Facility and private sector through CFLI India Platform. We expect that the Platform would be able to mobilise private capital, at scale, into climate and environment sectors, particularly green and resilient infrastructure.” – Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
“We must harness the full power of our global financial system to deliver a green industrial revolution. The UK and India are working closely together to mobilise finance for sustainable projects in India – and this support from the Climate Finance Leadership Initiative will turbocharge that effort.” – UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak
“The Tata Group is proud to co-chair CFLI India and accelerate clean energy growth in support of meeting India’s ambitious renewable energy goals. We look forward to driving this initiative forward on the ground – alongside Macquarie and other Indian financial institutions and corporates – and advancing the public-private collaboration that is vital to strengthening enabling environments for unlocking private capital.” – Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Group
“Macquarie was a founding member of CFLI and we have two decades of experience working with governments and clients to advance solutions to climate challenges. Working with the Tata Group, we hope to use this experience to support CFLI India in bringing together international and domestic financial institutions, corporates, and existing sustainable finance initiatives to create the necessary investment conditions to accelerate India’s journey towards net zero.” – Shemara Wikramanayake, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Macquarie Group
“This new global partnership will boost private finance to support India’s ambitious commitment to deploy 450 GW of renewable energy by 2030. I have visited India twice this year and have been impressed by the progress the Government is making towards this target. I am delighted that the CFLI will strengthen our existing partnership. COP26 is our last best hope of building a greener, brighter future, and so countries accelerating their transition to cleaner, more climate-resilient economies is crucial.” – COP26 President-Designate Alok Sharma
“CFLI India is a genuinely new approach to mobilising capital at the scale and pace demanded by the global transition to net zero. If we are to raise the trillion of dollars of investment needed, we need to connect the innovation and talent of financial centres such as London together with the dynamism and industry of a fast-growing market like India.” – William Russell, Lord Mayor of the City of London
“We need to mobilize more climate finance now, more than ever, to meet the commitments of the Paris Agreement and promote climate action.The GIF is pleased to be a core member of the CFLI India initiative because it creates a valuable platform—linking the private sector, governments, and development partners—to collectively identify innovative solutions that can translate NDC financing priorities into concrete opportunities to catalyze private capital and contribute to long-term sustainable development.” – Jason Lu, Head, Global Infrastructure Facility
About the Climate Finance Leadership Initiative (CFLI)
The Climate Finance Leadership Initiative (CFLI) convenes leading companies to mobilize and scale private capital for climate solutions. Michael R. Bloomberg formed the CFLI at the request of the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. Members of the CFLI include Allianz Global Investors, AXA, Bloomberg, Enel, Goldman Sachs, Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), HSBC, and Macquarie. For more information, visit Bloomberg.com/CFLI.
